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B. ASSEMBLY ELECTION/9 OCT.
McKeehan and Moore ran for the fourth Convention seat is unknown. The man
elected, John Reynolds, also voted against ratification.
3. Montgomery refers to the 2,000,000 acres which John Cleves Symmes of New
Jersey had bought from Congress.
Richard Butler to William Irvine,
Carlisle, 11-12 October (excerpt)1
The new Constitution for the United States seems now to engross the
attention of all ranks. The better or wiser kind of people wish its
adoption, but the Whitehill-ites are doing all they can against it,
paper against paper, and almost man against man. I suppose never
was an election begun under worse auspices or with the appearance
of more confusion and difference of opinion. The generality of the
people would go right if let alone, and although I cannot say that
every part of it pleases me and many others, we think it had better
be tried than cobbled or tinkered, but these filthy puppies have (to
carry their point) brought it and our d [amne] d [state] constitution
together which makes it a kind of sacrilege to say a word in its favor
to the very people it would most immediately help, the mechanics.
The great commotion of this county [Cumberland] is not yet fully
seen or can it till the returns for assemblymen comes in which is
hourly expected. If it comes in time you shall have it. I have for-
warded the new form to Pittsburgh with several papers and the re-
solves of this town meeting, but it is feared that [William] Findley
and his copartners in iniquity are gone up fraught with opposition
papers. God only knows what will be the event, but I am not out
of hope yet. I find by sad experience there is no likelihood of in-
terest being paid on the certificates. Whether it is a state trick to
sell the lands, the fault of the treasurer, or poverty in reality I don't
know, but some are swearing and some laughing about it; but I
want the money. I presume you have had hot work in Congress about
this new apparition. Some I suppose are frighted and others see it
as a guardian angel. I suspect some from the Dominion [Vir-
ginia] will be averse to it. The party in this state have gone
great lengths; indeed Mr. [Robert] Whitehill almost said to a friend
of ours, G [enera] lA g [John Armstrong], that G [enera] l
W [ashingto] n was a fool and Mr. F [rankli] n a dotard. He was not
quite so plain but bordered close. Thus these gentry go on.
the 12th. The returns are not all in, but from every account
[Thomas] Kennedy, [Thomas] Beals, [David] Mitchel and [John]
Oliver goes. A hopeful set and highly to the honor of Cumberland.
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